


be my (fake) husband

by askmyknife



Series: Peter Parker, CEO: Multiverse. [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Peter Parker, CEO multiverse, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, POV Alternating, Peter is a CEO, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21579133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmyknife/pseuds/askmyknife
Summary: Tony was desperate.Ugh, he hated that word. But he was desperate, no matter how he looked at it.The billionaire was currently sitting on a bench outside the courthouse, knowing very well that if he didn’t get inside in the next half hour with someone who was willing to marry him, he could say goodbye to half of everything he had.--By the time it was 5 p.m., Tony was married to Peter Parker.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Series: Peter Parker, CEO: Multiverse. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1437910
Comments: 38
Kudos: 240





	1. Prelude.

> _ **Prelude.** _

Tony was desperate. 

Ugh, he hated that word. But he _ was _desperate, no matter how he looked at it. 

The billionaire was currently sitting on a bench outside the courthouse, knowing very well that if he didn’t get inside in the next half hour with someone who was willing to marry him, he could say goodbye to half of everything he had. Including Stark Industries, his suits, and more importantly, the technology behind it. In the hands of the wrong people (which it would of course be), the outcome could be absolutely catastrophic. 

So yeah, it was serious enough to make Tony desperate. Tony wasn’t desperate for no reason, after all. This warranted immediate action. 

_ How _ Tony had gotten himself in such a situation, however, was another story. Several months ago, before he was Iron Man even, he had been in Vegas for a meeting with partners of the company. Obviously, it had not ended there: after the meeting, Tony had spent _ quite _ the eventful night in Vegas, and had drank more that night he had in his entire year. He had woken up the next day with a woman in his bed and then left to get back to Malibu, unknowing that he had gotten _ married _the night before.

The idea in itself sounded ludicrous in his mind, because even wasted, Tony felt like the word marriage would make him shudder. Apparently not that night. The stranger had the marriage certificate and his signature, and even if Tony had claimed it was forged, several witnesses had recognized him in the church. Damn.

Why Lydia Fisher took so long to go after Tony, he didn’t know, but she couldn’t have possibly chosen a worse time. Back then, Tony’s lawyers would have reached a settlement with her, and he would have lost a ton of money, sure, but he didn’t care about that. Now, she wanted half of _ everything _, and that included his estate, and more importantly, his Iron Man suits. Obviously, if she was vile enough to go after him like that instead of asking for some petty money and go away, she would feel no remorse selling his suits to the wrong people for a large sum of money. 

Which meant Tony had to do absolutely everything in his power to avoid the situation from happening. 

His lawyer had forged a document stating that Tony and a person X had gotten married two years ago on a small island, and that in turn made the Vegas wedding completely void. Now, Tony knew this was illegal, but morally speaking, what was more wrong: lying about a wedding, or having his technology in the hands of the wrong people? The choice was easy to make. 

When Tony had given him the green light, his lawyer came up with the perfect story: Tony and this person X had gotten married overseas to avoid the media, and had kept their marriage hidden until now for the same reason. They had been temporarily separated when Tony had married the other woman while drunk, and so had completely forgotten about the affair. 

Tony felt a little uneasy about the fact that during that whole time, he had been sleeping with several men and women who could potentially come forward and say the marriage was a sham, but he figured that these days, a lot of people were in open marriages. Or, a lot of people cheated. The statistics about the number of people who cheated shocked him when he researched them. So, it could be his excuse, even if he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. 

In the end, there was only the matter of finding _ someone _ to marry. His first choice had obviously been Pepper, considering he was _ already _ in a relationship with her, but she had refused without a second thought, because she ‘didn’t want to rush their relationship into a fake marriage’, and he could easily understand. It could get extremely messy, and he didn’t blame her, but at the same time he _ needed _to go through with this. Thankfully, she understood, and did not mind that Tony make marry anyone else. 

And so, with that in mind, Tony asked just about anyone he knew personally, which left his lawyer, Happy, and Rhodey, all of which had families and couldn’t exactly just go ahead and _ marry _Tony. 

Tony had run out of options, which was ultimately why he was now watching strangers walk by him, with the dreadful feeling that sooner rather than later, he would have to ask one of them to fake marry him. 

The big issue was that if they refused, he would be thoroughly _ fucked. _God, he just wished Pepper would have said yes. 

He looked at his watch, becoming more and more jittery as time went by. He knew he had to just go for it. He thus stood up at last, nearly bumping into the man he was about to ask to fake marry for 10 million dollars. Who would refuse 10 million dollars, anyway?

The man widened his eyes when he spotted Tony, his jaw slightly dropping at the sight of him. _ Good, he knows me _. (Who didn’t?) “I’m gonna have to call you back, Ned.” The man put his phone in his pocket then, blinking at the billionaire. 

Tony had been out of luck, because fuck, the guy was cute, which meant he probably was already married. Late thirties if Tony had to guess but the age didn’t really matter. Yeah, he was probably not Tony’s guy, but he was going to ask anyway.

“I’m going to be forward here – are you single?”

“I…yes, I am.”

Tony smirked. Bingo. How on Earth such an attractive guy was single was beyond him, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was single. Not for long, technically. Tony pulled him aside, explaining the situation without giving too much detail in case the answer would be a no. Not that it was: after explaining the situation and telling him he’d get 5 million now and 5 million at the divorce, the guy readily accepted. He signed Tony’s forged document, and the two of them got inside the court house to deliver the document and have it officiated. 

By the time it was 5 p.m., Tony was married to Peter Parker. A press conference would be arranged soon to announce the marriage publicly, and that obviously, they would have to review their story together beforehand. 

When Tony arrived back to the tower, he asked JARVIS to make a search about who exactly Peter was. The name rang a bell, but Tony couldn’t pinpoint when or how he had heard of Peter. He had his answer soon enough when he was faced with several articles about Peter Parker. Hell, the man even had his own Wikipedia page. His _ husband _ was none other than the CEO of Parker Enterprises, specialized in security systems and cybersecurity. Tony couldn’t exactly comprehend just _ why _10 million seemed appealing to Peter anymore, because the man and his company were worth billions. 

Tony supposed everyone could always have _ mor e _ money, but still. From what he could read on Peter’s website, most of his profits went to several charity organizations. Now, it wasn’t uncommon for companies to give money to charities, but the sheer amount given to charities in Peter’s case was hallucinating. There was even a page about how to apply to have a free security system if you were a small business in New York. Universities were given free cybersecurity as well. In any case, Tony was impressed. Peter was _ good. _

What Tony didn’t know, however, was that Peter wasn’t just the CEO of Parker Enterprises. He was also Spiderman, although he had not refused Tony’s money outright, he actually did not expect to cash it in. It wasn’t like he _ needed _it or anything. Sure, he could give it to a charity, but at the end of the day, money was the last thing on his mind when he accepted to fake marry Tony. 

In fact, when Peter had seen Tony approach him, he was certain he was going to drop his phone. Peter of course _ knew _ who Tony Stark was (who didn’t know who he was, especially after that ‘I am Iron Man’ statement). And when he had asked him if he could fake marry him, Peter thought he would faint. Sure, it wasn’t a real marriage, and yeah, it was _ definitely _fraud, but in no shape or form Peter could say no. Because first of all, this was Tony Stark. Peter always admired him, even more so when he learned he was Iron Man. It was like both of his crushes merged into one. It was honestly too unreal, so of course he said yes. Plus, if this Lydia person was after half of everything Tony owned, that included the suits. In the hands of the wrong people… 

Yeah, Peter obviously couldn’t have that. It wasn’t like this was explicitly what Tony told him, but Peter could do the math. So, really, he was more than happy to help. 

He knew he wasn’t _ really _ married to Tony Stark, but _ holy shit, he was married to Tony Stark. _On paper. And in everyone’s eyes. 

Crazy. 

When he felt his phone ring when he arrived in his penthouse, he very excitedly responded to Ned. 

“Ned, you won’t _ believe _what happened.”

“Someone robbed a bank? You didn’t end up calling me back, by the way,” Ned pointed out.

“I just got home, honest. And, no, it wasn’t anything Spiderman related.” 

“It was something Peter Parker related? Damn, things still happen to that dude?” Ned teased. 

“That dude got married to Tony Stark.”

There was a long silence before Ned spoke up. “You’re messing with me.” 

“I have the proof on my coffee table.” 

“Explain. Details.” 

Peter explained the whole ordeal, which ended up making more sense than whatever Ned had imagined, of course. Ned was also sworn to secrecy, but that was a given. Ned knew all of Peter’s secrets anyway. He was the only one who knew about the fact that he was Spiderman, after all. 

“But he’s dating this Pepper person?” Ned ultimately interjected. 

“Yeah. But they haven’t gone public yet and she didn’t want to fake marry him, so he had to get someone else to do it.”

“That could get messy. Like, real messy. Does he know you have been crushing on him for a while now?” 

“It’s just a crush!” Peter exclaimed. “He doesn’t need to know. It doesn’t matter. We’ll just attend the press conference together, go to a few public events to show that we’re truly married, and when he wins the case against Lydia, then we get a divorce and that’s it.”

“I’m telling you, Peter. This will probably get messy.”

The worst thing was, Peter knew Ned was right.


	2. Act I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy thanksgiving :)

> _ **Act I. ** _

Tony was used to press conferences. Having been a CEO since he was 21, it wasn’t like press conferences were a  _ new  _ thing for him. Plus, let’s be real, ever since he had told the world he was Iron Man, his popularity all around the world had increased by a tenfold. Of course, being Iron Man meant having a lot of enemies, but it meant having a lot of fans, too.

So really, at the end of the day, this conference meant just another Monday for Tony. He was a  _ little  _ nervous, because he wasn’t sure how Peter would react, but considering the fact that Peter was CEO himself, Tony knew that all should flow well. He hoped so, at the very least. He had gone over his statement with Pepper at least a thousand times, and thankfully she was alright with it all _ . Phew.  _ Because if she had been against marrying him  _ and  _ against him fake marrying someone else… it would have been rather problematic. 

The only problem was that Peter was running late, and the press conference was starting soon. He had hoped to review everything with him again, but the man was nowhere to be found, and Tony was starting to wonder if he had decided to bail last minute. He sure hoped not, and had texted his  _ husband  _ about ten thousand times by now. No answer. 

This didn’t sound good. 

When Happy arrived by himself, Tony nearly had a panic attack. 

“Tell me he’s in the bathroom.”

“Sorry, boss,” Happy shook his head. “He wasn’t at the pick-up spot. His secretary says he didn’t come in either this morning.”

Tony closed his eyes, letting himself sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t know what exactly he was going to do about this; it wasn’t like he could do it without Peter, it would seem too suspicious. The whole thing would seem suspicious even if he was here, after all. 

“Cancel it,” Tony declared. “We’ll just re-schedu—” He trailed off, interrupting himself when he saw a figure running towards them down the hallway. Tony already figured who it was before Peter even came close enough for him to clearly distinguish who it was. The infamous husband. “Nevermind. Tell them we’ll be out in two minutes.”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Peter huffed, catching his breath when he arrived. He looked like a  _ proper  _ mess. Hair disheveled, dress shirt barely buttoned up, no tie, and was that blood on his bottom lip?

“You’re late,” Tony pointed out. “And what the hell happened to you?” He asked, squinting slightly when he saw something red coming out at the base his neck. Was that more blood? He didn’t have time to pinpoint what exactly it was that Peter covered it up, buttoning up the rest of his shirt. 

“I know, I’m really sorry. My alarm didn’t wake me up,” Peter explained, getting out his tie, doing a loose job at putting it on.

“Uh-uh,” Tony replied, skeptical. But he supposed he couldn’t complain too much; the man was committing fraud for him. It was unsaid, but Peter was putting a lot on the line for him. And with that in mind, Tony calmed down. He was very often late to press conferences anyway. He could relax. “You got blood on your lips,” he nonetheless said; it seemed unlikely that Peter just got out of the bed now, although that would explain the hair. 

“Uh?” Peter widened his eyes in horror. He quickly washed it away, and then chuckled nervously. “Oh, no, that was just jam.”

Tony had seen enough of blood (especially his own) as of late to know that it had been blood. But, he supposed he could ask more about the matter later; the press conference was a more pressing matter he had to attend. So, after Peter had fixed himself and his face, Tony closed the distance between them and carefully combed Peter’s hair with his fingers, or well, attempted to. It was still unruly, but much less of a mess.

“Alright, you’re all set,” Tony observed. He was pretty sure Peter blushed afterwards, but perhaps his face simply had been red from the running and Tony had not noticed it before now. “I’m going to start the statement, introduce you, and then you come beside me, look pretty and say somethnig. Got it? We’re leaving right afterwards.”

Peter nodded. “Got it.”

Tony got out after that, and Peter followed him. He stayed on the sides along with Happy, while Tony walked to the podium, clearing his throat before he spoke up. This was it. 

“How’s everyone going? Good? Except you over there, you got something going on,” Tony gestured, and the lot of reporters let out a laugh, including the targeted one. “Alright, I won’t make you wait any longer.”

“Are you going to address what happened with Lydia Fisher?” A reporter asked.

Tony smirked. “Is that not the goal of this press conference? Alright, no more questions, or else I’ll never get to do my statement. But yes, I am addressing everything we have seen in the press about Lydia Fisher. Yes, I did marry her in Las Vegas roughly a year ago, I’m not denying that even if I don’t remember any of it. I was so wasted I could barely walk, but you know how crazy things can get in Vegas, am I right?” 

Another small chuckle. “The thing is, I was  _ already  _ married before marrying the lovely Lydia. I know, I know, not what any of you were expecting as a response to Lydia’s statement, but I was. I got married about two years ago on a private island to Peter Parker, who is standing right there,” Tony gestured, before he gestured for him to come closer. “Come here, sweetheart, don’t be shy.”

Peter didn’t need to be told twice and closed the distance between them, standing awkwardly in front of the reporters. Tony could tell that he was not exactly into the whole press conference thing. Tony had planned on keeping it short anyway. 

“Is it not peculiar that you are making a statement about being married to Peter Parker only a week after Lydia Fisher’s allegations about divorce and what she might get out of it?” A reported asked.

“If I may,” Peter began, and Tony raised a brow. He certainly wasn’t going to stop him. “I don’t think it’s peculiar at all. We are both CEO’s with high profiles, Tony’s being even higher since it was revealed that it was Iron Man. If we came out to the world about our relationship, we would have made the front cover of tabloids for god knows how long. I wasn’t interested in paparazzi’s following my every movement, but Lydia Fisher’s claims for Tony’s fortune are what forced us to come out in the open today. So, thank you for that.”

Tony was impressed. With Peter’s earlier stance, Tony had assumed Peter would have not said a word throughout the press conference, but the fact that he took the lead in answering showed Tony otherwise. 

Tony looped an arm around Peter’s waist, pulling him closer. “Couldn’t have said it better.”

The rest of the press conference was pretty uneventful, simply because Tony cut it very short. He had other (better) things to do, and the goal of the press conference had been met: he had completely denied Lydia Fisher any claim to what he owned, and had stated that he was already married. Peter’s surprising participation made it even more real, and now the only thing left to do was to pretend to be married for a couple of months, until the trial was dealt with. 

“You did good, sweetheart,” Tony told Peter as he took out the microphone hooked onto him. 

Peter grinned. “Yeah?”

“What do you say we go back to the tower and celebrate? I can introduce you to Pepper.”

“That sounds great!”

“Alright, Happy, would you mind bringing the car home by yourself? Think we’re gonna walk,” Tony stated. After all, it was barely a fifteen-minute walk to the Tower. And keeping in mind the fact that Tony needed the more exposure he could with Peter to make their marriage look like a legitimate thing, walking seemed like the best option.

Oh, how wrong Tony had been. Wanting to avoid running into the reporters on their way out, they used an exit door located at the back of the building, leading to a small alley where the trash went. And in itself, it had not been a bad idea, but when they walked out, they ended up facing three criminals mugging a woman. 

Tony widened his eyes in horror when the three men spotted them. It wasn’t like he had his Iron Man suit  _ on him _ . Sure, he could defend himself against one probably, and Peter could do the same, Tony assumed, but there were  _ three.  _

The good thing was that they let go the woman who didn’t hesitate to run. The bad thing was that the exit door was locked automatically from outside, and it meant they were totally cornered.

The situation went from bad to worse when one of the criminals took out a gun, probably because they recognized at least Tony, and knew there was a lot more money they could make from mugging  _ Tony Stark _ than some random woman.  _ Fuck.  _

Instinctively, Tony had put his hands up in the air, and so did Peter. But then, Peter gasped, and Tony couldn’t understand what the hell was happening: he had heard no gun shot, and was pretty sure the men had not reached them yet. 

“Oh my god, what is  _ that?” _

Tony was extremely confused.  _ What the hell was Peter talking about?  _ Was this a diversion? Aside from running into the men, there wasn’t much they could do, right?

That’s where Tony had been wrong. The moment the three men turned around to see what had caused Peter to look frightened and gasp, Peter turned to Tony, shot some sticky fluid to his lips, and then wrapped his arm around him. Literally two seconds later, they were up on the roof thanks to more of that sticky fluid. 

It didn’t take Tony too long to piece everything together. The red under Peter’s dress shirt, the blood on his lips, arriving late, the  _ sticky fluid _ , and Peter being strong enough to lift Tony up like he weighed absolutely nothing – Peter Parker was  _ Spiderman.  _

Peter sighed in relief when he watched the men leave after realizing Peter and Tony were gone. Tony tried to remove the web fluid on his lips, but it wouldn’t budge. A muffled groan left his lips, and it caught Peter’s attention.

The CEO gulped and then rubbed the back of his neck, a small, nervous laugh echoing on the roof. “Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn’t risk them hearing you scream and then them see me swinging us up here. Too risky. They had seen my face and since you’re already Iron Man, well…”

_ Yeah, they’d realize you’re Spiderman,  _ Tony thought, because it wasn’t like he could vocalize this. 

“The web fluid takes about an hour to dissolve, sorry,” Peter pressed his lips together. 

Tony gave him a knowing look.  _ You’re kidding. _

“I know! I mean, it used to be two hours, so one is not bad, but—Yeah. There’s no side effects or anything like that though, so don’t worry.” Peter paused. “So, I guess it’s clear who I am now…”

_ You think?  _

“I actually have something at home that can speed up the process,” Peter remembered. “So, huh, nod if you want to just wait, and shake your head if you want the dissolving solution.”

_ How was that even a question?  _ Tony obviously shook his head, and Peter grinned. What was he even grinning about? 

“Okay. I’ll go get it.”

Peter then started walking to the edge of the building, and Tony widened his eyes in horror. He was going to go and leave him here, wasn’t he? Even if Peter would come back soon enough, Tony didn’t feel too comfortable being stranded on top of a building, much less if his mouth was restrained like that. Tony thus very quickly grabbed Peter’s wrist before he could leave, and stared at him with wide, frustrated eyes, hoping this might do the trick. 

But Peter only looked confused. “You want to wait?”

Tony shook his head. 

“Huh,” Peter raised a brow, letting out a small chuckle. “I’m confused now.”

Tony sighed. He then pointed to the two of them, but Peter only seemed all the more confused. Tony did the same gesture and then held up two fingers, hoping Peter would remember that going to get the dissolving solution was option 2. 

“You want us to stay together…?” Peter tentatively said, and Tony rolled his eyes. He did the same gesture, this time also pointing to his mouth, making the motion of getting rid of the fluid. “You want us to go together get the dissolving fluid?”

_ Finally.  _ Tony nodded, and Peter grinned. “Okay. Yeah, we can do that. You sure you’re ready to swing, though?” 

Tony nodded. How bad could it be? He was flying nearly every day. Then again, being in his Iron Man suit was way safer. He supposed it was better this than being stranded on a roof for who knows how long. In any case, Tony held onto Peter, waiting for him to wrap his arm around him before they swung away. 

And yeah, okay, Peter’s question had been valid. Swinging across New York? Trippy. Tony wasn’t sure if he liked it. Part of him adored it, and the other absolutely hated it, so he couldn’t make up his mind. He was pretty sure that towards the end he was going to fall flat on the street, and found it easier to hide his face in Peter’s neck and not look or think about the ground. 

Because if he panicked and let go of Peter, he had no clue what would happen to him. He doubted Peter would drop him, but  _ still.  _

When they arrived on Peter’s balcony, Tony was more than thankful. He lifted his head up and now that there was no danger of him dropping to the ground and literally  _ die _ , he could take a moment to see just how damn close he was to Peter. For fuck sake, he had literally clung to him like a koala. To be understood, of course, because of the situation. Still, only one thought kept coursing through Tony’s mind, other than being thankful swinging across New York hadn’t ended in his death.

_ How could Peter be still single?  _ His looks alone should be enough to land him enough dates to fill his calendar. Someone this good looking  _ had  _ to be an asshole to still be single. But that was the thing; Peter was the absolute opposite. He was, literally, a sweetheart. Mind the shooting web fluid on his mouth part, but that had been to protect his identity, which Tony could understand. Tony himself preferred people know he was Iron Man, but he could see a lot of reasons why he could have kept his identity a secret, too. 

But how the hell did Peter Parker, attractive as hell, intelligent, CEO of his own company,  _ and  _ Spiderman (which meant he had to be ripped under that shirt) was still single in his thirties?

Well, he was going to be married for a couple of months, wasn’t he? 

“You…You can let go of me, you know. We’re on my balcony now,” Peter chuckled. Ah, again with that nervous chuckle. 

Perhaps he was uncomfortable? Tony had actually no idea how long he had kept clinging to him; he had been lost in thought admiring him, really. 

Tony let go of him ultimately and Peter invited him in his penthouse, going directly for the dissolving solution in his nightstand. He took Tony’s hand and made him sit on the bed, before he dragged a chair from his desk and sat in front of him. 

“Don’t move,” Peter voiced, as he very carefully began putting the solution atop of the web fluid. Soon enough, he was able to peel it off with ease. Peter discarded it in his garbage can, and then looked up at Tony, nervous. “So…”

“So, you’re Spiderman,” Tony stated the obvious. “And you have one of the messiest rooms I’ve ever been in.”

“Hey! I wasn’t expecting visitors!”

Tony shifted his gaze to Peter’s desk and walked to it, lifting a McDonalds bag. He took the receipt in it, and read the date. “Apparently you haven’t been expecting anyone in here in seven days.”

Peter stood up, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m…busy.”

“Being Spiderman and a CEO, I can imagine,” Tony pointed out. “Alright, we got to go. Pep’s waiting for us.”

“Wait, Tony—” Peter stammered. “You won’t tell anyone, right? Not even Pepper, or Happy, or—”

Tony decided to interrupt him before he’d start naming just about everyone Tony knew. “Relax, sweetheart. Don’t worry your pretty little head, I’m not telling anyone,” he promised, closing the distance between them. He poked his nose next, and carried on. “What kind of husband would I be if I went and told the world you’re Spiderman?”

Peter smiled. And blushed. “Right.”

Tony smiled back, and although he knew he had mentioned the husband thing as a playful note, he felt nervous about the fact that he might have liked it a little too much. It made absolutely  _ no  _ sense, because in no shape or form had Tony ever been attracted to the idea of marriage, but he elected not to focus on it too much for now. He simply got back to the tower with Peter, introduced him to Pepper before they had a little celebratory lunch. Peter and Pepper immediately got along, perhaps a little too much, to the point where Tony hardly seemed included in the conversation.

He felt a  _ tiny  _ bit jealous (and he didn’t know if it was because he was jealous of Peter or of Pepper or both), and decided not to acknowledge it until he stole Peter away and showed him his lab, which Peter was extremely impressed with. Peter stayed until he had a Spiderman-related emergency, but promised to meet with him sometime this week. 

After all, now that they were openly married, they had to be out in the open. Their first outing had been to lunch during Peter’s lunch break at work, and it had not been long enough for Tony’s liking. He had nonetheless learned that Peter used to live with his aunt, who was now retired and living in a house upstate, which had been bought by Peter. Tony also learned that Peter’s net worth was far lesser than what Tony had expected, only because he gave back  _ so much  _ of his money to charities and research. His penthouse was the only luxurious thing he had allowed himself (and really, it wasn’t  _ that  _ luxurious). He didn’t even have a  _ car _ , and claimed he simply liked biking better. 

Tony had met a lot of CEO’s in his life, and he was one himself, but not  _ once _ had he met a CEO with a pure soul like Peter’s. 

There had been a couple of meet ups for lunch, since it seemed to be like Peter’s only free time during the week. He hesitated inviting him over at the tower one weekend, but he selfishly preferred to be alone with him. He reasoned that it was also fruitless to bring him in a private place, because the goal was to have as much exposure as they could. 

After their first official dinner, they were all the tabloids, but it had been as Tony would have hoped. A lot of pictures had taken close moments, when Tony had his hand on Peter’s back for instance, but that had been as far as touching went. Some reporters pointed out how Tony had been ‘touchier with the liaisons he had while he was married than with his husband’, and he absolutely couldn’t have that. Sure, other articles pointed out that relationships between men were still not widely accepted and that typically gay couples didn’t engage in PDA as much as straight couples, but  _ still.  _

He thus had started hooking his arm with Peter’s whenever they would walk outside, but he had a feeling it wasn’t  _ enough.  _

So, after getting their order at a café before heading back to Peter’s building, Tony had taken Peter’s hand for the first time. Neither of them said anything on the way back, but considering it had been only a couple of minutes, it hardly seemed like a big deal. Still, Tony knew he might have taken Peter by a surprise a little. Not that much, because they  _ were  _ supposed to be married, and married people obviously held hands. 

Before letting go of Peter, Tony decided to just outright ask it.

“Was this okay?” He asked, gently lifting their entwined hands. 

Oh, Peter was blushing. Probably Tony’s favorite look on Peter, even if he couldn’t tell him. 

“Oh – yeah, yeah, it’s okay,” Peter replied. He then smiled, and Tony hardly controlled what came next. 

He took Peter’s hands closer to his lips, and then very gently kissed his knuckles before letting go. “And was that okay?” 

Peter’s blush increased by a tenfold. He grinned and nodded. “It’s all okay.”

As it turned out, it was  _ more  _ than okay. God, Peter could hardly describe how fast his heart was running because for the simple touch. His hand had been burning the whole back to work, and now, with that gentle kiss on his knuckles, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to focus on work all afternoon. He  _ knew  _ that this was all part of the fake marriage thing, and he  _ knew  _ this was in response to the tabloids (because of course Peter was reading them), but he still felt so  _ warm.  _ Was he dreaming when he saw the way Tony looked at him sometimes? 

Sometimes it just felt so… real. 

But each time, Peter was reminded that Tony was with Pepper, not him, and that he needed to not romanticize all of this. 

It was easier said than done. 

“Alright, I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”

_ Sweetheart.  _ If only Tony knew how that made him feel. Peter couldn’t even stop grinning as he made his way up to his office. Because the best and the worst part about this was that it was only the beginning. Now, each time he saw Tony, they were holding hands. And each time they parted, he kissed his hand. Soon, it wasn’t just his knuckles that he kissed, but his fingers, too. And then, it wasn’t just his hands, but his cheek as well. Peter was certain that he had a heart attack when Tony surprised him with a kiss on his cheek, and his cheek had burned for hours onwards. 

It took a while for Peter to mimic Tony. At first, he had understandably been too shocked. But with time, he began to be the one initiating the hand holding. He began kissing Tony’s knuckles sometimes when Tony was talking about just about anything, and Peter had nothing to do but admire him as he spoke about his inventions. Peter had managed to catch him off guard a couple of times, and it was probably his favorite thing.

Eventually, Peter was brave enough to kiss Tony’s cheek. It had been after a dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. Neither Peter nor Tony let go of each other’s hand during the  _ whole  _ dinner. Peter had to thank his spider senses for the dexterity of eating with his wrong hand, but he had told himself he would not let go until Tony did, and Tony hadn’t. 

By the end of that evening, it really did feel like what they had was  _ real.  _ How could someone even fake those looks? That  _ adoring  _ look Tony sometimes had when he looked at nobody but him. That  _ smile  _ he had when he soothingly rubbed his thumb against the back of his hand. 

How could someone fake that?

But as Ned reminded him, Tony exuded seductive confidence, and perhaps this was just something normal for him. Plus, he was dating  _ Pepper  _ still, so Peter figured he really must be imagining it.

Even so, a part of him just wanted more. He wanted more until he was too late, until the case would go to trial and when Tony would win, they would have to divorce. Peter knew he needed to cherish every second of it, so when he got the reminder that he was to attend a charity event over the weekend, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to spend a whole evening alone with Tony.

Well, perhaps not alone, but still. 

He had hesitated when he had sent the text, but had sent it regardless. 

_ I have a charity event to go to tomorrow, you wanna come with me? I was supposed to bring a friend as my plus-one, but it kinda makes more sense if my husband comes, right? -PP _

_ What time is it? -TS _

_ 17:30. It’s a dinner/auction. -PP  _

_ I’ll pick you up at five. Can’t have you go there with a bike. -TS _

_ Can’t have you go there without me, either,  _ Tony thought, but he wasn’t going to  _ text _ him that, now was he? Especially not as Pepper was sleeping beside him. God, Pepper. She had seen the tabloids and had been fine with everything she saw, or maybe she wasn’t saying anything about it. But yeah, there had been a lot of pictures of him and Peter holding hands and kissing each other’s cheeks in the past weeks, and while Tony was sure he could easily reason with her that this was all part of the act to make everyone believe they were married, he knew this was not the whole truth.

Yes, initially, that had been why he had done those things. Absolutely. But with time, it seemed like part of him started holding Peter’s hand just because he wanted to hold his hand. 

So really, with that in mind, was going together to a charity event a good idea? Probably not. For publicity, yeah; how weird would it look if Tony didn’t go, if he didn’t have anything planned? 

But a part of Tony wanted to go because he felt like if he wasn’t there, someone would try to snatch Peter away. And yes, the idea was incredulous – Peter knew what was at stake if he decided to break off the fake marriage before the trial. And with Peter being  _ Spiderman _ , it wasn’t like he could let just about anyone get the suits. Peter  _ understood  _ that. But still, the idea alone of someone coming onto Peter… 

No.

Tony reasoned it must only be because he was protective of Peter, and he was, of course he was. Tony was extremely protective of just about anyone he cared about, so this was no surprise. 

Still, he knew the situation was becoming… tricky.

But he loved Pepper, so he would be fine. Right? Just a couple more months of this and then he would go back to his life with Pepper. And so, with that in mind, he went to bed, anxiously waiting for the charity event. Hell, he almost dressed up in a tux for the event, but realized he was probably overdoing it. He settled for a black suit and a burgundy dress shirt with a matching tie, and drove his own car (or well, one of his many cars) to Peter’s building. 

And yeah, of course Peter was breath-taking. He always was, always had been, always would be, probably. Tony felt no guilt for thinking it, because even Pepper admitted Peter was incredibly good-looking. Tony certainly noticed how many (if not all) people at the event looked at them, because they were the new sensation. Tony had plenty of occasion to touch Peter, either by taking his hand, or placing his hand on his back, his waist – and he took them all. Peter was practically tied to his hip to the whole evening, but Tony didn’t care. 

Tony had bid an outrageous amount of money for the biggest item of the night. Not because he needed it, because he actually already owned that car (and Peter knew it), but because he wanted to impress him. Peter always spent so much money on charities, had about three of his own, and it only felt right to Tony to do it. He was happy to, really. 

He was not exactly surprised when it turned out that he won, and Tony had looked at Peter the entire time. When the price was revealed (and it was actually more than he promised he’d give Peter for the marriage), Peter’s jaw dropped. Everyone else did, but Tony didn’t care. This was for Peter. He looked at him with such a  _ surprised _ , awed gaze. When Tony was called to the podium, he gestured for Peter to join him. Peter looked too awestruck to even take a decision about this, so Tony offered his hand after he had stood up, one Peter evidently took in his own. Tony lead him to the podium. 

“I must say, I had no idea I’d win,” Tony said playfully, and everyone laughed. “I actually already have this car, so this is a gift for my husband, who has been extremely understanding and supporting this whole time. I mean, can you imagine being married to me? The guy deserves at least two nobel prizes.” 

Everyone had a good laugh, again. It was one purpose, after all. 

Tony then turned to Peter, and tipped his head to the side. “This is for you, sweetheart.”

Tony had not expected this, but he was pretty sure he heard a couple of ‘ _ kiss him’ _ in the small crowd, and he was pretty sure it was aimed at Peter. Or him. Or both. It made him skip a heartbeat nonetheless, because  _ what if he did _ ? At this point, whether they’d like it or not (not that Tony could see himself not liking it), it was something that would need to happen, because how weird would it be if they didn’t?

Tony couldn’t tell what was going on in Peter’s head and whether he would do it or not. But then the next thing he knew, he felt those warms hands on his cheeks, and Peter had leaned in to kiss him. And when he finally caught his lips with his own, Tony melted. He knew he  _ shouldn’t  _ like this, but how could he not? Fuck, Peter’s lips were so soft, so  _ warm.  _ He could still taste the champagne on his lips, and Tony was pretty sure he could be completely drunk on his lips.

Tony rested his hands-on Peter’s waist, and when he began kissing him back, it was Peter’s turn to completely melt. It felt surreal to be able to kiss him, much less in front of so many people. It was the perfect set up though, because they had been asked to kiss, and it was so public that it would only strengthen Tony’s case. The crowd cheered and Peter could tell by the flashes that pictures of them were being taken, and Peter felt guilty for taking advantage of that to kiss Tony for as long as he could, knowing what was supposedly decent. 

But oh, he would have kissed him longer.

So much longer. 

He would have never let go. 


	3. Act II.

> _ **Act II. ** _

“You kissed him?” 

Pepper frowned, and Tony knew this was going to be a difficult conversation. Even so, Tony knew he needed to have it now, especially before she’d see it in the tabloids. Because oh, of course that kiss was going to be just about everywhere. 

“Technically, he kissed me,” Tony corrected, “They were asking us to, Pep.”

She looked unconvinced. “Why would they ask you two to kiss?” 

“Because we’re married!” Tony retorted, and then became a hell lot quieter for what came next. “And because I bid 20 million on a car and gave it to Peter.”

“You did _ what? _”

“It wasn’t a big deal, and it was for a good cause.”

Pepper crossed her arms across her chest, and gave Tony _ the _look. Oh, she was not happy. “Really. What cause, Tony?”

_ Shit _. “Children? Cancer? Something like that,” Tony shrugged. “It was a good cause, Pep, and you said I should give back to the community, so I did. Come on, honey, don’t be mad. It was a short kiss.”

Lies. It had been far from a short kiss. Tony could still _ feel _Peter’s lips pressed against his own, hours after it had happened. 

Pepper sighed and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re right, I shouldn’t be mad. You would have blown this whole thing if you hadn’t kissed him when everyone asked you to. I know. But really, Tony? 20 million in one night?

“I was feeling generous,” he replied with a shrug, leaning forward to give her cheek a quick peck. She relaxed after that, and everything seemed to have gone back to normal.

Except that it wasn’t. Tony couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling of Peter’s lips pressed against his, and no number of kisses from Pepper had been able to make him forget. 

He ended up falling asleep that night wondering just when he’d get to taste those lips again. 

Incidentally, Peter had been thinking the same. He wondered if it would be alright now to kiss Tony, or if it was still off-limits. He wondered if soon enough he’d be able to kiss him even longer, even if he knew he shouldn’t, because the more Peter touched him, the longer he stayed close to Tony… The more it would hurt when he would finally have to let go of him. 

Perhaps a little time away from Tony was his best option here. And thankfully for him, he had a conference schedule in Vegas the next weekend. It was only three days, but it would be a welcomed distraction. He also happened to be a speaker at the conference on cybersecurity, and therefore he’d stop thinking about Tony. Right? 

Unlikely. He could practically hear Ned’s ‘_ yeah right’ _echoing in his mind. He was screwed, wasn’t he?

Speaking of the devil, Peter’s phone chimed, the CEO assuming it was his best friend. 

He assumed wrong. 

_ I’ll pick you up at 3 pm on Friday. -TS _

_ What for _? Peter wondered. It didn’t matter; he couldn’t go, no matter how tempting it’d be to see Tony over the weekend. 

_ I actually can’t do anything this weekend. Sorry. -PP _

_ You’re cancelling the conference? -TS _

Peter stared at his phone, dumbfounded. _ How did he even know? _

_ Wait, you’re coming with me? -PP _

_ Of course, I am. -TS _

_ So, is 3 good? Unless you prefer driving to the jet by yourself in that pretty car I got you. -TS _

Peter tsked. He actually hadn’t even used the car yet. 

_ I actually already have a ticket for Las Vegas. -PP _

_ Please don’t tell me you’re flying coach. -TS _

_ Guilty. -PP _

_ You’re kidding. -TS _

_ Alright, fine. What’s your plane number? -TS _

_ You’re flying with me? -PP _

_ Of course, I am. That’s what husbands do. -TS _

_ Real husbands, maybe, _Peter thought, but he wasn’t going to complain. 

_ WS986, seat 9E -PP _

_ Just so you know, I’m taking your window seat. -TS _

Peter smiled. Of course, he’d give Tony any seat he wanted. Peter still didn’t know just how Tony knew about the conference and exactly why he was going, but he was not going to complain. Yes, Peter had initially wanted the weekend away from Tony to keep his feelings in check, but who was he kidding? He’d much rather spend it with Tony. A whole weekend away sounded all too marvelous, and the fact that Tony was willing to fly coach (which seemed like something he disliked doing) just so he could be with him, made his heart swell. 

The rest of the day went by fast, and Peter had told Tony they’d meet in the plane, since he wasn’t sure when he’d leave work. It turned out Tony wasn’t there yet when Peter boarded the plane, and he wondered if Tony had decided to go by himself in his jet after all. Peter was a little disappointed, but not exactly surprised. Why would Tony even fly coach, ever?

“You’re in the wrong seat,” Peter then heard, and he grinned ear to ear when he looked up to see Tony taking off his red shades. 

“Wasn’t sure you’d come after all,” Peter confessed, getting up from his seat to let Tony sit down.

“And miss this disgraceful experience?” Tony drawled out. “I’m considering divorcing you for this, fyi." 

Peter let out a light chuckle. “No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not,” Tony replied. “Don’t think I could ever divorce that pretty face.”

Peter blushed. Was there a possibility that Tony meant that? Even if only a little? Or was he saying this only because he knew people could be listening to them? 

_ What are you thinking, Pete. Of course this is for show. _

“So how long is this flight anyway?” Tony asked after he adjusted his seat, and looked at the small screen in front of him. “Oh, my god. You’re kidding. This is what they call entertainment?”

“Six hours,” Peter responded. “And, well, there’s movies...”

“I have an 80 inches screen on my jet to watch movies,” Tony muttered. “Alright, Pete, explain something to me. How does someone rich like you still bike to work and fly coach?” 

“I really like biking to work. Plus, New York is crazy. Driving in New York can only end in chaos, so I prefer biking, or swinging. And as for planes, I don’t know, really. I never got on a plane until I was 25, and I was so excited to finally be on one that I kinda just learned to appreciate it as it is. I’ve never felt the need to get myself my own plane. Plus, if you think about the environment…” Peter trailed off, becoming flustered at the _ way _Tony looked at him. “What?” 

God, the way Tony looked at him was breath-taking. Peter felt like he was one of the most beautiful sights Tony had seen. Of course, he knew his imagination was running wild. There was no way Tony could ever think _ that. _

But then Tony replied, and Peter’s heart both leaped and sunk at the same time. 

“Just thinking about how pure you are.” 

_ Don’t think he’d find me pure if he knew I was totally falling for him despite knowing he was with someone else, _Peter thought. 

“Pure? I’m…” Peter looked down, slightly shaking his head as he let out a small sigh, and ultimately carried on. “…not so sure about that.” 

“You are the purest person I’ve ever met, Pete,” Tony insisted. 

Peter cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject. He couldn’t exactly accept the compliment because he knew it was a lie, but he couldn’t exactly go and explain why he believed he wasn’t ‘_ pure _’. Thus, he stared ahead of him, more specifically at the screen, because he was extremely unsure he’d be able to look Tony in the eye. 

“So, do you want to watch a movie, or…? If you want, we could watch one at the same time.” 

“Pick a movie,” Tony told him, and Peter silently looked at the choices before he settled on one, and gave Tony earbuds afterward. He silently pressed play for both of the screen then, and leaned against his seat, tense. 

Peter tried to focus on the movie, he _ really _did, but the CEO was unable to focus. Not when Tony was sitting so close to him, with his hand practically on his. 

Peter knew it was wrong to want and reach for his hand. Oh god, he knew, but his temptation was too strong. Peter had been about to very gently take Tony’s hand into his own, when Tony very slowly started using his pinky to gently stroke Peter’s hand. Peter bit down his lip, knowing full well that he might have misinterpreted the touch. But then Tony’s hand covered his, and Tony slipped his fingers in between his own. 

Peter smiled. He gently squeezed Tony’s hand in return, and before Peter knew it, Tony had laid his head on his shoulder, effectively leaving Peter overwhelmed with joy. He forgot all about right or wrong, because if _ this _was supposedly so wrong, then why did it feel so right? He kissed Tony’s head a couple of times throughout the movie, and wasn’t even sure whether Tony was awake or not, but it didn’t matter. Peter simply felt at peace. He wasn’t even sure what happened throughout this movie or the next, or even when they were interrupted for drinks and food, because the moment they were back watching the movie, Tony entwined his fingers with Peter’s again, and laid his head back on his shoulder, as though this had been a routine they had been through so many times before. 

Oh, how happy Peter had been to fly coach. He wasn’t even at the conference yet, and he already was looking forward to the flight back. Because Tony would come back with him, right? Well, Peter could only hope. 

Tony had been on his phone the whole back to the hotel, texting Pepper, Peter assumed. In truth, he had absolutely no idea and he wasn’t going to ask. They soon arrived to the Bellagio hotel, and after Peter checked in and got his keycard to his room, he waited for Tony to check in, only to realize that Tony was standing right beside him, waiting. 

It took Peter a moment to realize that Tony wasn’t checking in because he was going to stay with _ him. _

“Oh,” Peter said aloud, a distinctive blush coloring his cheeks. 

“Oh?” Tony raised a brow.

“Nothing!” Peter replied perhaps a little bit too fast, biting down his lip as he made his way to the elevators. His mind was running at a thousand miles per hour, realizing that his room had only one king size bed, and it wasn’t like Tony didn’t know that; he had been with him when the hotel reception confirmed the reservation prior to giving Peter his room. 

He was going to sleep in the same bed as Tony. _ For two nights. _ And while Peter knew that nothing would happen, because Tony was with _ Pepper _ and the only reason why Tony would stay with him in the first place was because it would be _ weird _ if a married couple rented two separate rooms, he felt so much _ anticipation. _

And a lot of fear that Tony would end up figuring out how Peter felt. It was one thing to act all lovey dovey in public, because Peter could always say he was just playing the part right, but it wasn’t like Peter’s demeanor would change indoors. 

In other words, he was screwed. 

“What number is our room again?” Tony asked. 

_ Our room. _Peter gulped, loosening up his tie. “Room 1303.”

Tony pressed on the number 13 in the elevator, and Peter stood awkwardly beside him as the elevator moved up _ painfully _ slowly. Peter had stayed silent all the while, and almost dropped his keycard when they arrived to _ their _ room. God. No matter how Peter looked at it, he was going to literally spend a whole weekend away with his _ husband. _ Fake husband. The line between the two was… very blurry ever since that _ kiss. _

Peter felt like he couldn’t relax, especially not as Tony jokingly asked him if he wanted to join his shower before he hoped in, to which Peter had replied with a _ very _ nervous chuckle. Somehow, the CEO managed to sit on the bed, very rigidly, as he attempted to watch whatever was on the television. The irony was that he could probably use a shower too, after all he always felt like it after a plane ride, but it was hard enough not to try about Tony naked from where he was. If he had to use the shower _ right after him _… 

Yeah, no. He’d wait for later. 

It was a literate torture to watch Tony walked around the (very small) room wearing nothing but a towel, teardrops of water still glistening on his skin. Peter had a good look at his arc reactor, and fuck, why was it so hot to look at? Why was _ Tony _so hot to look at? The CEO found himself lost in a trance. He mentally cursed himself, wondered what he had done to deserve this kind of embarrassment; Tony seemed to have caught something was up. 

“You alright there, Pete?” 

“Mhm,” Peter nodded, forcing a smile onto his lips. “Peachy.”

“Alright, I’ll go get dressed and then I’m taking you out.”

“Taking me out where?” 

“Sweetheart, it’s Vegas. You don’t spend a night here in your hotel room. It’s an unspoken rule.”

Peter snorted. “Isn’t that how you ended up married?” 

Tony smirked. “Don’t let me make that mistake again,” He pointed out, grabbing clothes from his suitcase. “Unless you’re the one I’m drunkenly getting married to,” he finished, winking playfully at Peter before he disappeared in the bathroom again.

_ What was that supposed to mean? _ Peter _ groaned _as he leaned his head against the headboard. It was as though Tony was designed to make Peter crave him and have him second guess himself every other hour. Was Tony being playful? Was he being flirtatious? Was he playing a game? Or was this just how he normally was?

Tony lead him to what had to be the most expensive restaurant in the Strip, but Tony insisted he was going to be the one paying, since Peter was providing the room. Yeah right; the meal was literally going to cost more than the two nights he had paid, and his plane ticket too, probably. 

By the time the diner ended, it was long past 11 pm, and considering the conference started at 8 the next day, Peter figured it was time for bed, even if Peter was sure he’d have quite the difficulty falling asleep next to Tony. But before Peter had the time to press for the up button at the elevator, Tony gripped his hand and dragged him away. 

Apparently, in Tony’s book, 11 pm meant time to go play in the casino, and certainly not time to go to bed. It wasn’t like Peter was tired per say, but casinos and gambling weren’t something Peter ever had been interested in, so he had absolutely _ no _idea how any of this worked. 

But, as if he was going to leave Tony. As if he would ever pull away from his hand. No way. 

Tony ultimately lead him to a playing table in the casino, already surrounded with other people. It wasn’t like Peter could recognize the game (the only one he knew was poker, and then again, not really), but it involved dice. And money, obviously. He watched the game unfold, noticing Tony win and lose, back and forth, what seemed like a very large sum of money. 

After literally half an hour of staring at the game, Peter still wasn’t too sure he understood the purpose of it, other than to make money, obviously. But from what he had understood, it seemed very unlikely to win the game, and everyone around the table seemed to be losing more money than they were winning, which lead Peter to wonder why everyone was so interested in betting large sums of money. 

He supposed he’d ask Tony later why, and why asking him to blow on the dice had anything to do with luck. It wasn’t like his breath had magical properties. 

In any case, Peter figured he’d better go sit down for a bit, both because he was a little tired of awkwardly standing there, and because he felt his phone vibrate nonstop in his pocket, meaning someone was sending him a lot of texts. It was either May or Ned, and if it were urgent they probably would have called him, but Peter was curious enough to look and respond. And with how everyone was stacked against each other around the table, he doubted he would even have the room to go reach for his phone without inadvertently touching the man he desperately wanted to touch, but couldn’t under any circumstances. 

“Hey, Tony, is it okay if I go sit down for a minute? I can come back with more drinks?” He suggested; Peter tended to down his drinks fast, simply because it didn’t affect him like a normal human being, but it appeared Tony drank even _ faster _than him, and Peter hardly understood how he only appeared barely tipsy. 

“Of course, sweetheart,” Tony responded, after he picked up the dice. 

Peter grinned. “Great, I’ll be back soon.”

“Oi oi, you can’t leave him when he just bet that much,” the man beside Peter stated. “You’re his luck factor.”

_ When did that ever make sense? _

Tony brought his hand in front of Peter’s lips. “Probably wouldn’t be safe for you not to blow on the dice for that amount of money.”

How much had Tony even bet? 

The man scoffed. “For that amount of money, you should kiss him for good luck.”

Peter widened his eyes. _ You should kiss him for good luck. _ Was that their cue? Was this like the charity event? Was it one of those times where they just _ had to _kiss, otherwise it would seem very odd if they didn’t? Oh god. It was. 

Tony cocked a brow, pulling his hand down towards the table. It dawned upon Peter that everyone was looking at them now, _ waiting _ , and there was no way Peter was quick enough to think of a reason Tony’s _ husband _ wouldn’t kiss him for good luck. Peter damned the fact that he _ craved _kissing Tony, otherwise he was sure he would have been quicker on his feet. 

“He’s right, sweetheart,” Tony finally replied, and it was finally clear to Peter what he had to do.

He had the ultimate green light, and dipped his head down to capture Tony’s lips with his own. It was less of a shock as the first time, and so this time Peter didn’t waste any second to very gently cup his face, thumbs running gently across his cheeks. Peter kissed him long enough to savor the kiss, but not too long so that it would seem inappropriate. They were in a public setting, after all. 

When he pulled away, Peter was _ beaming. _A bright grin had curved his lips, and Tony didn’t even look at the table before he threw his dice on it. Tony didn’t even turn his head to look at the result either, and for a moment, it felt like there was only the two of them. 

But the whole table screeched, louder than they had before. Both turned their heads, and Tony smirked at the result. He then wrapped his arm around Peter’s waist and pulled him closer, landing a kiss on his cheek before he spoke up. 

“Looks like you’re not going anywhere, Pete. You’ve got magic lips.”

Alright, so _ clearly _it was a coincidence, but in no shape or form was Peter going to go anywhere anyway. He couldn’t even remember why he had wanted to in the first place, plus the arm firmly wrapped around him kept him right where he wanted to be. 

And oh, Peter knew that staying around meant he would get to kiss Tony _ every time _he would roll the dice for however long he wanted to keep on playing. Peter knew it was wrong to take advantage of the situation, but at the same time, but he didn’t care. He was committing fraud; he should be feeling bad about that, not kissing his fake husband. But in that moment, he felt bad about neither. 

Peter eagerly waited for the next time Tony would roll the dice after that. Tony ordered up more drinks for everyone, since it appeared like he had tripled his money with that lucky roll. And although Peter still didn’t fully understand the game (mostly because he was too busy looking at Tony), he was more than eager to _ participate. _Each time Tony had the dice, he kissed him a little while longer. At one point, it was Tony that gripped his tie and pull him down to kiss him, and Peter was pretty sure he was going to faint.

Several drinks later, the kisses went from short lived pecks to lips crashing against one another, Tony’s hand up in Peter’s hair, tugging at its short ends. Peter was pretty sure he had moaned then, but the sound had been thankfully muffled by Tony’s lips. By then, Peter didn’t even know if Tony was looking at the table when he rolled the dice, but the pair knew he had rolled the allegedly perfect number when the whole table cheered. 

Hours later, there was just as many people surrounding the table, perhaps even more, and Peter was certain he had never drunk that much in his entire life. Even with his spider genes preventing him from getting fully drunk, Peter felt _ extremely _tipsy, and it generally included him laughing for no reason, with cheeks bright as the dice Tony kept rolling. Peter wasn’t even keeping score anymore, and he couldn’t even know if Tony had won more money or if he had lost it completely, because all he was looking for was the moment Tony picked up the dice. It meant he’d soon enough be able to get drunk on Tony’s lips, and that was all that mattered. 

“Alright, sweetheart,” Tony slurred. “One last roll before I pass out.”

Peter wasn’t even disappointed: he had more kisses that night with Tony that he hoped he’d have during the whole time they were going to be married. Plus, with the amount of alcohol Tony had ingested over the course of the night, Peter was honestly wondering how he was still standing. 

“Alright,” Peter had replied with a grin, and since it was going to be the last one of the night, he decided he was going to go all in. The fact that he was intoxicated didn’t stop him from thinking that this might be going a little too overboard.

Peter moved his hand from Tony’s shoulder down his back, pressing the older man against him. He cupped his cheek with his free hand, and at first, the kiss had been slow, gentle. But then, Peter moved his hand to Tony’s neck, and ultimately, as he began kissing him deeper, his fingers threaded up Tony’s hair. His tongue slipped from his mouth, and very slowly roamed across Tony’s lips. Peter then heard dices being dropped, and he very much heard a groan crash against his lips. Suddenly, Tony’s hand was in his hair again, and neither of them pulled away when everyone started screeching. The small crowd seemed so distant, and Peter couldn’t help but ignore them. He kissed Tony until his (fake) husband pulled away, _ breathing heavily. _Peter’s lips felt swollen, and Tony’s visibly were. 

It was with much reluctance that both of them turned their sight away from one another, to find out that Tony had won. Big time, apparently. Maybe Peter’s lips had magical powers, who knew. 

The pair were silent after that, as Tony went to change his casino chips into actual money, or rather, a check. Tony had taken Peter’s hand after that, and Peter had been the one to lead them to the elevator. Once in, Tony leaned his head on Peter’s shoulder, and before Peter knew it, Tony had somehow fallen asleep. Peter smiled, and didn’t hesitate to carry him in his arms until he very gently placed him on their bed. 

Peter removed Tony’s shoes and his suit jacket, and rid him of his belt and tie for comfort, before he tucked him in under the covers. Peter leaned forward then and kissed his forehead gently, whispering a soft goodnight against his skin. 

Peter fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow, and woke up long before Tony. He had the chance to prepare himself and pace around the room, thinking about his talk that would arrive sooner rather than later. He looked at the time continuously, wondering whether or not he should wake up Tony or let him sleep. 

Luckily for him, he had to do neither, because Tony woke up on his way out. He groaned, stretching in the bed in confusion. Peter couldn’t help but smile, because my god, he was adorable. It was a look Peter could certainly get used to see in the morning. Alas, as he reminded himself often, Tony was not _ really _his husband. 

“Good morning, I’m actually on my way to the conference, did you want to come?” Peter asked.

Tony groaned. “Do you usually speak this loud?”

“Nope, you’re just hungover. I got some coffee ready to go.”

“Such a sweetheart,” Tony replied as he slowly got out of bed. Peter did everything in his power to look at _ anywhere _ but him. Peter didn’t remember undressing Tony before putting him to bed, so Peter figured Tony must have woken up in the middle of the night to undress, because _ god. _Yeah, it was safe to say that Peter wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face when Tony was wearing nothing but his underwear (also, why did Peter find the arc reactor this crazy hot?). “How come you’re not hungover?” Tony asked, snapping Peter out of his trance. 

“I don’t get hungover,” Peter chuckled nervously. “Spider genes.”

“Give me some of that,” Tony grumbled.

_ If I could transmit Spider genes via kisses, you’d already have all of them, _Peter thought, but there was of course no way he would actually say that. “Hey, you know you don’t have to come to the conference if you don’t want to. I’m sure there’s plenty more interesting activities to do in Vegas than a conference.”

Tony raised a brow as he looked up from the dress shirt he was buttoning up, and nearly scoffed. “And have all the other nerds have a dig at my husband? I’ll pass.”

Peter _ blushed. _Was Tony, possibly, actually, jealous? It seemed ludicrous, but then why say that? It wasn’t like they were around anyone that might hear them. They were in their hotel room. Or perhaps Tony just had said that because this is how he would act with his actual husband, and so it would be unrealistic that he didn’t come with him. 

Oh, Peter was overthinking again. 

“I think the other _ nerds _ know I’m married. Everyone I talk to asks me how I managed to land _ Tony Stark _,” Peter explained. 

Tony raised a brow. He then finished putting up his pants and closed the distance between them, leaning forward to kiss Peter’s cheek before picking up his tie on the drawer. Peter _ blushed _ , confused at how natural this had looked and felt like. Like it was a _ habit. _

“They should be asking how I managed to land you. They’ve no idea what kind of a pain in the ass I am,” Tony pointed out, finishing tying up his tie. “Alright, how do I look?”

“Like you weren’t drinking and gambling all night,” Peter noted, impressed. “How do you do it? You look great.”

“Are you implying there should be a time during which I wouldn’t look great?”

“No!” Peter replied all too quickly, widening his eyes. “You always look great. Always.”

Tony smirked. “I’m just messing with you, Pete.”

“Oh.” Right. _ Right. _Peter should have known.

“Alright, let’s go, I have to show you off to everyone.” Tony offered Peter his hand, and Peter couldn’t hesitate taking it. They were far from the conference, and certainly did not need to hold hands as they made their way down to the elevators. But they did, and Peter couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. 

He doubted he was going to be able to pay attention to much of what was going to happen today besides his presentation, if Tony was going to stay by his side like that. Suddenly, cybersecurity became a whole lot less interesting. Could anything be more interesting to Peter than Tony Stark? Doubtful. Peter was already completely enamoured.

It turned out Tony did not leave him alone all day, and Peter was not complaining in the slightest. He even contributed to the conversations he had with others in the field. Peter didn’t quite know _ when _Tony had learned all about cybersecurity, because he was certain that Tony wasn’t so fluent before today. Oh and what the hell, Tony was simply a genius.

Soon enough, the night came, and after his shower, Peter had been ready to get back in his pyjamas when he found Tony dressed up, waiting. Peter stared at him in confusion, meanwhile Tony stared at him as though Peter was supposed to know exactly what was on his mind. Oh, if he could, his life would be better. 

“First of all, you should walk around this hotel room with only a towel all the time,” Tony finally said, and Peter’s face turned red. He had figured that if Tony could walk around only wearing underwear, so could he, right? “And second, please don’t wear pyjamas downstairs. Or do. I don’t care, you’d look good in anything.”

_ You’d look good in anything. _

“Where are we going?” Peter asked, biting down his lip. 

“Downstairs. Did I not just say that?” 

“Downstairs _ where _? Are you still hungry? I told you that you should have ordered two plates,” Peter pointed out.

“No, sweetheart, we’re going gambling,” Tony corrected. 

Gambling. To Peter, gambling meant _ kissing _. Or well, it was what it had meant the previous night, and if Peter was lucky enough, it would be what it meant tonight as well. 

“Oh. Uh, okay, yeah. Just give me a second,” Peter grinned, grabbing what would have been his tomorrow clothes, disappearing into the bathroom to change in record time. Hell, he had not even looked at his reflection after getting dressed, because if they were going to go gamble again, Peter wanted to do it for as long as he possibly could for the last night in Vegas. Soon enough they would be back to New York, and Peter could tell gambling and kissing goodbye. “Okay, I am ready."

Tony cocked his head to the side. “No you’re not,” Tony responded before he walked to him, and then fixed his hair. Oh, right. It probably had been a mess, knowing him. Shit. He should have checked. But then again, he was not exactly opposed to have his hair fixed by Tony… 

The proximity in itself made his heart rate accelerate, and he was all too tempted to just lean in and capture his lips already. God, it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since his last kiss with Tony and he already felt touch-starved. 

Tony ultimately looked back up into his eyes, and for a moment, Peter was sure he was going to kiss him. 

But Peter had been wrong, and Tony cleared his throat, pulling away. He didn’t take his hand this time to bring him downstairs. In fact, the elevator ride down to the casino had been extremely silent, more than usual. Peter wondered if he had done something wrong, but dared not ask. He had not done anything wrong, right? Right.

He was just being paranoid. 

Tony did link his arm in his when he reached the ground floor, but Peter assumed that was only because they were about to appear in public now. Still, he didn’t saw a word as Tony lead him to the very same table as the night before and ordered two scotch on the rocks for them. 

“Look who it is! Magic lips,” One man said, and more people around the gambling table started to recognize him. Peter smiled sheepishly, only because he had no idea who these people were. In his defense, he had drank a lot, and had been far too busy thinking about kissing Tony and _ actually _kissing Tony to think about who were around the table itself. 

“My one and only,” Tony kissed Peter’s cheek, and Peter almost choked on his drink. _ One and only, my ass _, Peter thought. Oh, if people knew Tony wasn’t really married to him but instead secretly dating his assistant. 

“Alright, put it on red,” Tony declared, and several of his chips were taken away. Peter still had no idea how the game was played or what to even do, but it didn’t matter. He was here for support, and apparently, for his magic lips.

Magic lips Peter sure hoped Tony would use again. 

It felt like Tony had read his mind when he took the dice and turned to him, Peter’s heart racing against his chest. He was going to ask, wasn’t he? He was. 

“You know the rules, sweetheart.”

_ Yes. _Oh, thank god. Peter grinned from ear to ear, and he didn’t even have to respond. He simply cupped Tony’s face in his hands, and leaned forward to press his lips against his own. Tony dropped the dice to bring his hand to his cheek, and Peter forgot where they were. Because really, did it matter? All that mattered was the fact that Tony was kissing him back like he felt the same way he did for him. All that mattered was the fact that Tony came back to the same table he did the night before, almost as if he, too, had been craving for an excuse to kiss Peter again.

Little did Peter know that he had been completely right about that. Now, mind you, Tony did like gambling, but that was not the reason why he had gone to Vegas, or why he had gone to that specific table yet again that night.

No, it was to see if he would get away with kissing Peter again. God, it was so wrong, he _ knew _ it was wrong, but he couldn’t help it in the slightest. In his defense, it did make the whole ordeal more believable. Plus, it wasn’t like Peter would interpret this as anything but pretending the marriage was real, right? Tony liked to believe he wasn’t crossing too many lines, even if, at the end of the day, he knew he was. He _ knew _he was. 

It didn’t stop Tony from stealing a couple of kisses that night for _ gambling _purposes. He did actually make twice his money again, so perhaps Peter’s lips were magic. In any case, Tony only put a stop to it when he heard his phone ring with Pepper’s ringtone, and that he was certainly not supposed to kiss Peter Parker so much. To be fair, Peter had the softest lips. It was not a contest, but if it was one, Peter would win it. 

Tony thought no longer about it, knowing he might do something he’d later regret. He bid everyone a good night and fell asleep after pulling a pillow wall between him and Peter (silly, but he told him that it was Pepper’s idea) to stop him from trying to touch the man in his goddamn sleep. He was too wasted the previous night to do such a thing, but he wouldn’t put it past him tonight. And so, pillow wall it was. 

The next morning had been brutal because of how early they woke up for their flight. Oh, screw Parker and his insistence of flying coach. If Peter wasn’t so damn cute, there was no way Tony would agree to fly coach again.

“So,” Tony said after they settled in the plane, Tony adjusting his seat to _ try _and be comfortable. “Pepper sent me a message that some news reporters are interested in interviewing you. I know it’s tedious, but would you be okay doing that for me? It could really help the case.”

“Yeah! Yeah, of course! It’s really no problem, Tony, I’d do anything for you,” Peter replied with a chuckle, and it was only when Tony raised a brow that he seemed to have realized what he had said. He instantly became flustered, and Tony couldn’t help but smirk. “I mean, I’d do anything to help… you know.” 

“Got it,” Tony replied, smirking all the more. “Thank you, sweetheart.” 

“You’re welcome,” Peter responded quietly, turning after afterward to pay attention to the movie he had chosen. 

Tony tried to watch the movie too, but there was only one thing that crossed his mind on a loop the whole trip home.

_ Tony, I’d do anything for you. _


End file.
